ride in a car It’s a very physical experience, from gripping the steering wheel to stepping on the accelerator to feeling a jolt if the vehicle comes to a sudden stop. One day, people may experience these same sensations by taking a virtual walk into the metaverse, the next iteration of the internet where people can be immersed in a digital world that closely mimics reality.

The full metaverse is likely to take at least five to ten years to come to fruition, but stakeholders in the mobility industry can already capture the real business value of the “proto-metaverse.” This first incarnation is based on spatial computing and extended reality (XR), which is an umbrella term that includes augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and mixed reality (MR). The proto-metaverse has…